The present invention is directed to a bariatric device and method of causing at least partial satiety in a patient. In particular, the present invention is directed to a bariatric device and a method of causing at least partial satiety in a patient by a noninvasive or minimally invasive technique.
Obesity is a large and increasing problem in the United States and worldwide. In round numbers, from the period encompassing the year 1990 to the period encompassing the year 2000, the prevalence of overweight people (BMI greater than 25) increased from 56 percent of United States adults to 65 percent and the prevalence of obese adults (BMI greater than 30) increased from 23 percent to 30 percent. Likewise, the prevalence of overweight children and adolescents (ages 6-19 years) increased from 11 percent in the period encompassing the year 1990 to 16 percent in the period encompassing the year 2000. The increasing prevalence of overweight among children and adolescents will make the problem even greater when they reach adulthood. The problem is not limited to the United States. Between 10 percent and 20 percent of European men are obese and between 10 percent and 25 percent of European women are obese. Numerous medical conditions are made worse by obesity including Type II diabetes, stroke, gallbladder disease and various forms of cancer. Approximately 500,000 people in North America and Western Europe are estimated to die from obesity-related diseases every year and obesity is estimated to affect more than one billion adults worldwide. Therefore, there is a pressing and unmet need for a solution to the epidemic problem.
Various techniques are known for reducing obesity in patients. Known techniques tend to be based upon restricting food movement and/or nutrient absorption. One example is gastric bypass surgery on the patient, which is highly invasive. The goal of such surgery is to form a pouch from a portion of the stomach to reduce the volume of the space in the stomach receiving food. When the patient ingests food, the pouch is filled which stretches the stomach wall and produces satiety. One difficulty with such procedure is that it requires food to fill the pouch to create satiety. As a result, dietary restrictions are required for effective operation of the pouch. Such restrictions include withholding of liquids during meals to avoid washing the food from the pouch. Also, liquids with substantial calories tend to pass through the pouch without creating substantial satiety. Moreover, the opening from the pouch tends to become enlarged over time, thus allowing more food to pass while achieving reduced satiety. Thus, patients undergoing such surgical techniques often experience gradual weight gain over time.
Alternative weight loss devices and methods have been proposed. However, such devices and methods may be difficult to place in the patient, have questionable efficacy, and may cause undesirable side effects.